June 11, 2018

Yesteryear
One year ago today: June 11, 2017, Titusville = no parking.
Five years ago today: June 11, 2013, now a 16 year veteran.
Nine years ago today: June 11, 2009, the day the trouble started.
Random years ago today: June 11, 2016, the watermelon rap.

           The meeting this morning concerned the hot dog cart only. The seller is being unbelievably stubborn. Myself, well since I have the money and he doesn’t, I’m not stubborn, I’m persistent. What’s changed is I found out his wife likes spending money. So I took the cash out in hundred dollar bills, into an envelope, and sent Agt. R over to wave it under her nose. I’ll stay home and work on the house, since it seems the seller thinks I’m a little old man on a pension with only $8 spending money per day. Ah, that means my charade still works. Yes, to the outside work, I seem the meek and mild shopkeeper.

           This picture is the mini-pineapple plantation. It’s in the back yard over at R’s place. Yes, those are pineapples. We are clearing a spot in anticipation of parking the hot dog wagon. We’ve decided that there is no place in my yard that somebody intent on snooping could not find a way. Time for a privacy hedge now that we know the city is hard-nosed about everything. They denied my porch permit on the grounds that I do not have any ID that shows this as my Florida residence. So, I concede round one to them, but now we know they’ve discovered they can use the permit process to enforce much more than building code.

           Actually, that is not what tipped me off they had a hidden agenda. It was when they insisted on viewing the property title. They let it slip that they were not interested whether I was on the title, but to see if anybody else was on the title. Hmmm, that sounds sinister, whatever they’re after. Then again, they are small town nobodies so they probably don’t even have a clue on that. But Agt. R has an eight foot high fence all around his back yard and his trees are everywhere. Mine are in a row long the north side.

           Here’s a view of the progress on the soundproof wall. The sconces are working, just now they are temporarily serving as work lights with 100 watt bulbs. The drywall should be finished by tomorrow, that is, taped and mudded, but not sanded. Look closely at the door. See the light around the edges? That is because the door rests across the limit of where the house is leveled to the right, and where it is still settled, to the left. As I raise the floor, that door will probably straighten itself out like the others did. And they still work fine.

           I’ve decided to go ahead with the trailer hitch. This is as much for the hot dog cart as my mini-camper. It’s good sense to have at least two vehicles that are capable of moving that cart. But the cost? Horrendous. For the proper hitch, the wiring harness, and installation, it’s $477. So my first camping trip will have cost me nearly a thousand bucks when I start out. Yeah, but think of the benefits of sleeping wherever I please. I’ve already expressed my displeasure at how motels and hotels work their bull. How they photocopy your ID and assist the authorities with unConstitutional warrantless searches. Suddenly I do have something to hide on principle alone and it is called my privacy.

Picture of the day.
Hippie chicks skateboarding.
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           More lengthy work on the house, I’m getting ahead of it finally. This is one of the new proper wall mounts for the A/C. In this view, the drywall mud is still drying. The cutout is big enough to accommodate the next sizes up of A/C units. You know, in case they are serious with this global warming. That is not an error under the unit, but a place where I’ll find a sill plate with horns, so as to give the cutout a matching look to the windows in the room. Ah, and another smart move was keeping these A/C units six feet off the floor. At that height, they provide their own room circulation—which is important in this climate.

           I’ve also paid extra for appliances that were silent, when available. The A/C sound only the rushing air, the fan motors don’t even hum. I’ve learned most of this on the job here, and I’ve gotten quite proficient with window trim. Stick around and I’ll eventually get you some photos. Summer is here both barrels, so tomorrow we drive out to get the fancy A/C for the front bedroom. It will be the only model so far with a thermostat. The bedroom unit shown here is kept mostly on low, all that was ever needed when this room was the first to be fully insulated.

           I built my own A/C platforms from heavy duty shelf brackets. I got to thinking how I don’t much like the look of bare A/C units jutting out of the wall. So I’m knocking off today at 6:30 PM to go for an extra coffee and see if there are any better designs. I can’t be the only one who thinks A/Cs are an eyesore. Especially the ones hung in windows. Now here’s a situation where you decide who is the dumb one. I have a box full of 20A light switches. That’s the problem, they all got into one box and some are regular, some are 3-day and one is 4-way. They are not marked. Was it me or some dorkball at the factory that decided to make them all look identical?
[Photo delayed]
           The trick is to count the number of screw attachments on the side. Right, you engineers, we have nothing to do but stop and take these one-by-one turn them over and categorize them. Today was mostly work on the house, so I finally have a shot of the wall being taken out to make the kitchen into a combined kitchen-dining area. This view was impossible this morning, but now the hallway leads directly into this soon to be friendly area of the house.

           As shown, there is still drywall being torn out and those studs will soon disappear. The clutter is not entirely from the renovation. That far corner is the most settled and it made all the kitchen cabinets fail, so the doors are gone. Nor do the utensil drawers work either, so most everything is lying on counters. My food supply, pots, dishes, storage, everything that needed to be stored until I get to that foundation. Once the wall is removed, I’m putting in a six foot long temporary counter. It will serve triple duty as my table, my work bench, and hopefully a spot where I can read and write near a coffee machine again. Oh yes, for the past how long now, I have to troop from here to the kitchen and back for every spot of coffee, tea, or cold drink.
           And for the archives, two days ago a rainstorm blasted through here, the arm of a hurricane that missed us. But for five minutes, people said they thought it was taking their paint off. I never heard a thing. Also just for the record, I am consistently tipping the scales below 180.

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